updated 06:10 pm EST, Tue November 19, 2013

Digital photo sharing site adds physical flair

Yahoo-owned photo storage service Flickr announced on Tuesday the availability of a new service that can turn users' digital Flickr libraries into physical photo books. The new Flickr Photo Books service will "analyze your photos and intelligently crop, position, and place them automatically," according to Flickr. The company says that a user's collection "can go from Flickr to photo book in as easy as one click."

Users enter the provided product editor and choose the photo set they wish to include. They can edit, crop, zoom, and position photos manually, or they can have Flickr's system do so automatically. Books have a maximum of 240 pages, and they arrive as 11" x 8.5" glossy hardcovers.

The printed collections will cost $35 for a book with up to 20 pages. Additional pages cost $0.50. Books should arrive in 5 to 7 business days. The service is currently available only to customers in the continental United States.

The Vergenotes that Flickr Photo Books algorithms were built in part by teams from recent Yahoo acquisitions, including GhostBird Software, IQ Engines, and LookFlow. All of those companies, prior to being acquired by Yahoo, made photography and image recognition software.